Paper and Fire

The Great Library Series, Book 2

In Ink and Bone, bestselling author Rachel Caine introduced a world where knowledge is power, and power corrupts absolutely. Now she continues the story of those who dare to defy the Great Library—and rewrite history... Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever.

Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library’s deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way to London.

But Jess’s home isn’t safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon Jess must choose between his friends, his family, and the Library, which is willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control...

Baker & TaylorWhen his mission to save one of their own goes awry, Jesse Brightwell is forced to chose between his friends and family as his band of allies go on the run to escape the clutches of the Library's deadly automata.

Baker & Taylor"In Ink and Bone, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine introduced a world where knowledge is power, and power corrupts absolutely. Now she continues the story of those who dare to defy the Great Library--and rewrite history.... With an iron fist, the Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion and in the name of the greater good forbidding the personal ownership of books. Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like what he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. His best friend is lost, and Morgan, the girl he loves, is locked away in the Iron Tower, doomed to a life apart from everything she knows. Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library's deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way to London. But Jess's home isn't safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon Jess must choose between his friends, his family, and the Library, which is willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control..."--Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies find themselves hunted by the Library's deadly automata and forced to flee from Alexandria to London, where Jess faces an impossible choice against a backdrop of the Welsh army invasion. By the best-selling author of Ink and Bone. Simultaneous eBook.

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The premise of a bibliocracy that has warped over centuries from preserving knowledge to censoring it was intriguing in the first book, but no longer feels new. I'm more interested in the portrayal of technology and pseudo-magic that keeps the Library state in power. I found most of the book a little too idealized (nasty bad guys in power vs. selfless good guy underdogs) and convenient though .. perhaps typical of teen / young adult fiction these days.

I agree, with the others. The book was a great follow up and held your attention from start to finish. The only thing I would have made me like it more, and this is in hindsight, is a better picture of what was happening to Morgan while in the tower.

Jess's journey continues, and I don't feel like it skipped a beat. I enjoyed watching him adapt to new situations, but also see the family he made during his time at the library continue to deepen. I'm excited for the next book coming in July 2017.

LOVE LOVE LOVE! The story of Jess and his friends keeps getting deeper and more dangerous as the Great Library series goes on. The only problem with this book is waiting for the third installment, which isn't set to come out until 2017.

All throughout this book I couldn't help but to draw parallels with the Vatican archives. The Black archives described in this book are so similar and the idea of what may be hiding in them so tantalizing. It's pretty amazing to think that a work of fiction can so easily describe a real world circumstance that so many people don't even think about. This aspect of the book is less fiction and more a magnifying glass on the reality of how easy it would be to ignore an entity exerting total control over knowledge. It happens daily with the existence of the Vatican archives, an no one is complaining. No one even knows what is in there, what knowledge has been lost to time, locked away by an entity for the so called "greater good". It's a little frightening, actually, to face the fact that we could all be kept in the dark so easily and with so little resistance.

Paper and fire is a great follow up to the first in the series. I love that Caine was able to continue the plot while still working in a new side mission with Thomas. Typically authors get completely side tracked on the subplot in follow ups and lose and progress toward the overall mission. That was not the case in this book. The overall plot is advanced, while staying incredibly exciting and suspenseful, even as the characters are working toward the subplot. Caine did a marvelous job of tying the two together.

I actually really enjoyed the time spent in the Iron Tower as well. I think it was important to the character growth to show the reality of the tower for Morgan and to see the outsiders realizing exactly what was going on in there. So much of the Library is kept compartmentalized and segregated. For good reason too. It is less likely that you can exert the level of control the Library wants if too many people see and understand the internal mechanisms that allow for that control.

I also enjoyed the growth for Jess. He had to come to terms with the reality of his family life, his past, and to (internally at least) pick sides in the eventual fight. His choices were rational and understandable with the facts that were available and the circumstances. Unlike other books in this genre, he didn't get bogged down trying to make excuses for the actions of others. He acknowledged the rational that they would use to clear their conscience but also, just a quickly, understood the reality of where that left him. I appreciate the fact that Caine is allowing her characters to grow and make these realizations without a three chapter long internal dialogue debating the merits of either choice.

I adore this series and will certainly continue reading it. I am most interested to see what Caine does in America and with the introduction of burner characters to the core players.